Iran Newsclips, February 19, 2015
david.cutler
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Wilkerson: Iran vote: Some in Congress aim to kill diplomacy, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Iran and west narrow gap in nuclear talks, Financial Times
Supreme Leader Doubts Talks Will End Iran Sanctions, New York Times
Iran Foreign Ministry criticized for implying 'two-step agreement,' Al-Monitor
Report: Iran to resume nuclear talks with U.S. on Friday, CNN
Top Iranian nuke negotiator ordered to stop screaming at Kerry, Washington Free Beacon
Iran still stalling U.N. nuclear inquiry as deal deadline looms: IAEA, Reuters
Glenn and Nada: Rival Political Visions: ISIS v Iran, Iran Primer
Israel fears rapprochement between US, Iran, Al-Monitor
Netanyahu: Israel knows details of proposed U.S.-Iran deal, AP
Tabatabai: Iranians Anxious about Nuclear Talks, Lobe Log
Iran's Jews: It's Our Home And We Plan To Stay, NPR
Iran Does Not Carry Out Scheduled Hanging Of Juvenile Kurdish Offender, RFE/RL
Meet Iran’s first woman vice president, Yahoo News
'You Are Invited': Isolated Iran Seeks Foreign Tourists, NPR
Wilkerson: Iran vote: Some in Congress aim to kill diplomacy, Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 19, 2015
Kaine would be wise to stay away from Corker-Graham because the reality is that the proposal would have devastating consequences should the U.S. reach a final nuclear deal with Iran. If given the opportunity, a majority in both houses of Congress would probably vote against this agreement. Many lawmakers have been making maximalist and unrealistic demands in these negotiations for years — such as one that Iran must completely dismantle its entire nuclear infrastructure. The chances of that outcome are approximately zero, so any deal that does not include similar provisions will most likely be voted down. And what if Congress votes “no” on the final deal? Our allies and partners in these talks will conclude that the U.S. is neither capable of, nor interested in, making a deal with Iran. They’ll withdraw from the coalition that has imposed harsh sanctions on Iran. The leverage that has pressured Iran to the table will be gone.
Iran and west narrow gap in nuclear talks, Financial Times, February 19, 2015
World powers and Iran are making “significant” progress towards a deal to curb Tehran’s ability to build an atomic bomb — so much so that even hawks in the Israeli government consider some form of agreement increasingly possible in the coming weeks. Negotiations have taken on a more urgent tone in recent days as a deadline edges closer.
Supreme Leader Doubts Talks Will End Iran Sanctions, New York Times, February 18, 2015
Iran’s supreme leader said on Wednesday that he did not believe that all sanctions against his country would be lifted, a move he had previously said was an essential condition for nuclear talks to succeed. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in Iranon any nuclear agreement between his country and world powers, and who has commented regularly on the negotiations, has stressed that he is not optimistic about whether a compromise can be reached. But in a speech on Wednesday, referring to the United States, he said he did not believe that sanctions would be lifted “even if the talks continue on the basis of what they dictate.”
Iran Foreign Ministry criticized for implying 'two-step agreement,' Al-Monitor, February 19, 2015
At a press conference Feb. 18, Afkham said that while according to the interim deal in Geneva, the deadline for the negotiations is the end of June, “An internal understanding in the Geneva talks took place to have a political ‘understanding’ by the end of March in order to discuss the details later.” Iranian parliamentarian and National Security and Foreign Policy Committee member Ibrahim Aghamohammadi said, “The use of the word ‘understanding’ in place of ‘agreement’ in regard to the negotiations is playing with words with the goal of taking the negotiations outside the channels of the law.” Aghamohammadi said that Iran is after a clear deal so that there is no opportunity for “differences of interpretation” and called on the Foreign Ministry to explain exactly what was meant by “understanding.” He added that if Iran were to suspend 20% enrichment for good, all of the sanctions against Iran must be removed in one step.
Report: Iran to resume nuclear talks with U.S. on Friday, CNN, February 19, 2015
Speaking to Iran's IRNA news agency, Araqchi said the talks will be at the deputy ministerial level, followed by a meeting of the two countries' foreign ministers. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zari and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to join the talks in Geneva on Sunday and Monday, Araqchi said. There was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. side. "At the end of the four days of bilateral talks between Iranian and US nuclear delegations, discussions will possibly continue with participation of all members of the Group 5+1," Araqchi said.
Top Iranian nuke negotiator ordered to stop screaming at Kerry, Washington Free Beacon, February 19, 2015
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told his country's state controlled media in a recent interview that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed him to stop yelling at Kerry and other top U.S. officials during the talks. Reports about Zarif's temper first emerged in the Iranian press last November, when the United States and Iran agreed to extend talks through June of this year. Zarif is said to "frequently shout at Western diplomats" with such force that bodyguards have been forced to enter the negotiation room. During one incident described by Iranian officials to the press, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, a chief western negotiator, admitted that Zarif had been shouting, and she had gotten used to it.
Iran still stalling U.N. nuclear inquiry as deal deadline looms: IAEA, Reuters, February 19, 2015
Iran has still not addressed specific issues that could feed suspicions it may have researched an atomic bomb, a U.N. watchdog report showed on Thursday, potentially complicating efforts by six powers to clinch a nuclear deal with Tehran. Iran and U.S. negotiators will resume talks over Tehran's nuclear programme in Geneva on Friday to narrow remaining gaps aimed at ending a 12-year standoff with the powers, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported. The confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), obtained by Reuters, said Tehran was continuing to withhold full cooperation in two areas of a long-running IAEA investigation that it had committed to giving by August last year.
Glenn and Nada: Rival Political Visions: ISIS v Iran, Iran Primer, February 12, 2015
Both ISIS and Iran seek to export their forms of Islamic governance. ISIS has attempted to globalize its influence by calling on Muslims around the world to migrate to the Islamic State or pledge allegiance to it. Militants from more than ten countries, including Libya, Egypt and Algeria, have publicly sworn allegiance to it. After the devastating war with Iraq from 1980-1988, Tehran gradually scaled back its efforts to export its brand of Islamic revolution. It has aided groups with common causes, like Palestinian Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has also cultivated spheres of influence in Shiite communities elsewhere, such as Afghanistan. But the goal has not been to gain territory for the Islamic Republic.
Israel fears rapprochement between US, Iran, Al-Monitor, February 19, 2015
So who is right? Where is the truth? Like in any conspiracy theory, the truth is in the middle. The Americans aren’t trying to replace Saudi Arabia with Iran. The Americans are not trying to throw Israel under the bus, but they would be very happy if Netanyahu would disappear quickly from the public stage and remain as far away from them as possible.
Netanyahu: Israel knows details of proposed U.S.-Iran deal, AP, February 19, 2015
"We know that Tehran knows the details of the talks. Now I tell you that Israel also knows the details of the proposed agreement," Netanyahu said. "I think this is a bad agreement that is dangerous for the state of Israel, and not just for it. If anyone thinks otherwise what is there to hide here?" he said.
Tabatabai: Iranians Anxious about Nuclear Talks, Lobe Log, February 18, 2015
As I discovered in my trip to Iran last week, Tehranis from all different walks of life currently feel as they are in limbo. No matter the type of hardship, they have long believed that everything would be better once a nuclear deal is achieved, sanctions lifted, and tensions in foreign relations settled. This cautious optimism could be sensed up until a few months ago. Now, however, anxiety has taken over. Everyone is longing for substantial results.
Iran's Jews: It's Our Home And We Plan To Stay, NPR, February 19, 2015
Iran is a country where people at rallies routinely chant "Death to Israel." It's also home to the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel and Turkey. Iran's Jewish population topped 100,000 in the years before the Shah of Iran was toppled in 1979 by the country's Shiite Muslim clerics. Today, the number of Jews has dipped to below 9,000. The Jews' very presence in Iran demonstrates the complexity of a country that is hard for outsiders to understand. Our search to understand what keeps the Jews here begins in the kitchen of a kosher restaurant in Tehran.
Iran Does Not Carry Out Scheduled Hanging Of Juvenile Kurdish Offender, RFE/RL, February 19, 2015
The execution of a juvenile Kurdish offender Saman Naseem, who was due to be hanged in Iran on the morning of February 19, has reportedly not been carried out on schedule. The reason was not immediately clear, nor was it clear if Nassem would be executed at a later date. The development follows international appeals to Iran to halt the planned execution of the 22-year-old Naseem, who was sentenced to death on charges filed against him when he was 17 years old.
Meet Iran’s first woman vice president, Yahoo News, February 19, 2015
As the first female vice president of Iran and the head of Iran’s Environmental Protection Organization, Masoumeh Ebtekar may be the most powerful woman in Iran. But long before her current role, Americans came to know Ebtekar in 1979 as “Mary,” the English-speaking spokeswoman for the Iranian student group that overran the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. Thirty-six years after the hostage crisis, Ebtekar said Iranian society is open to dialogue and understanding with the American people, but that there is a persistent distrust of the U.S. government, specifically as it relates to the war against the militant group ISIS.
'You Are Invited': Isolated Iran Seeks Foreign Tourists, NPR, February 18, 2015
Two events last week suggested the conflicting currents in Iran. The country marked the anniversary of its revolution last Wednesday with the usual slogan, "Death to America." The following day, Iran opened an international tourism exhibition with a different slogan: "You are invited." Iran wants to welcome more international tourists, including Americans. But that's a challenge for a country that's wary of outsiders, and closely monitors its own people.